


Surviving

by Uchiha_Blood



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, College AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 08:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5040421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uchiha_Blood/pseuds/Uchiha_Blood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke struggles with depression. His best friend and roommate, Naruto, wants nothing more than to see his bestie happy. When Sasuke wakes up in a foul mood, Naruto tries everything he can think of to help him out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surviving

"Good morning, teme! Rise and shine!" Naruto chirped, bouncing over to his roommate's bed and gently shaking the snoozing Uchiha.

"Mmmnnppph," Sasuke mumbled into the black sheets that were pulled up to his nose.

"C'mon, teme! Wakey wakey!"

"Mmmph."

"Sasukeeeeeeeehhhhhh..."

"Fuck you," Sasuke snarled, rolling onto his side.

"Fine, I'm gonna turn the light on."

Click.

"Hnnnnnnnn..." Sasuke groaned, pulling the blanket over his head.

"Dude, come on! I'm hungry, man!"

"Then go make yourself some fucking breakfast," the dark lump on Sasuke's bed snapped.

Naruto sighed quietly as he realized why Sasuke was so unbearably moody this morning, even more so than usual. It was the anniversary of the infamous Uchiha Massacre, the day he'd lost everything and everyone he loved. Naruto knew that Sasuke had been struggling with depression for a long, long time, and while most days went relatively well for him, there were still some where getting out of bed seemed comparable to climbing Mount Everest in four-inch heels.

Silently, Naruto tiptoed over to his nightstand, knelt on the soft grey carpet, and rummaged around in the big bottom drawer until he found what he was looking for. A well-loved stuffed orange cat that had helped Naruto through the hardest of times, and now, perhaps Mister Whiskers could help Sasuke, too. He just hoped that his old friend wouldn't make fun of him for keeping this old friend around even when they were in college.

"Hey, Sasuke? Do you mind if I sit here?" Naruto asked quietly, indicating the empty space on the bed next to the gloomy lump that was his friend. His other hand was behind his back, keeping Mister Whiskers out of sight. For now, at least.

"Meh."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Meh."

"Okay, well, I'm gonna sit here then..." Naruto replied, slowly perching on the edge of the bed. "If you wanna kick me off, go right ahead."

"Hmph."

"Not much for conversation today, are we?" Naruto joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sasuke said nothing, one pale hand poking out from under the sheets to flip him the bird. His face remained hidden.

"Okay, okay, no joking around, I get it. Do you wanna talk about it? That's supposed to help with depression, right?"

"Yes and no."

"Yes you want to talk about it, or yes it's supposed to help?"

"The second one," Sasuke whispered, and although his voice was muffled, Naruto could still hear his voice crack, followed by a sniffle.

"Okay. If you change your mind, I'm right here. Can I get you anything? Some water? Cinnamon tea? A tissue?"

"No thanks." Sniff.

"I'm gonna move the tissues closer, just in case you need 'em," Naruto said, grabbing the tissue box and placing it on the edge of Sasuke's nightstand.

"Mkay."

Naruto sat in silence for a while, hoping Sasuke would poke his head out sometime soon. He was deeply concerned for his friend's mental well-being, and he really wished there was something he could do to help him feel better. Obviously, telling dumb jokes until he laughed was out of the question, and getting him to say more than a few words was nearly impossible at the moment. There had to be something he could do.

"Okay, teme. I'm gonna leave a friend outside your little emo tent you've got there, and I'm gonna go make us some cinnamon tea, because I know you like that," Naruto said softly, gently propping Mister Whiskers on Sasuke's pillow before quietly walking out the door and down the stairs and into the kitchen of the house they shared.

"Cinnamon tea, cinnamon tea..." Naruto mused, searching through the cupboards until he found the little brown box he was looking for. "Aha! Found ya, dattebayo."

He followed the directions on the box, squinting at the tiny print as he heated up some water in Sasuke's favorite mug, the black one with the skulls and flames on it. He put a tea bag in the water and let it sit for five minutes, as per the instructions. He hummed a little tune while he waited, bouncing in place in his impatience.

Five long and boring minutes later, Naruto took the tea bag out of the mug and set it on a small plate by the sink to deal with later. Sasuke's happiness was his priority right now. Carefully carrying the warm mug of sweet cinnamon-y goodness up the stairs, he knocked on Sasuke's door before tiptoeing in.

At first, it seemed as though things were just as he had left them, but then he noticed that Mister Whiskers wasn't where he'd left him. Naruto walked over to his friend's bed, checking to see if his poor kitty had been dumped unceremoniously on the floor. He hadn't. In fact, the old orange toy was nowhere to be seen, which meant only one thing: Mister Whiskers was now snuggled in the arms of one Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke, I brought your tea."

Nothing.

"You're gonna have to come out of there if you want it."

Still nothing.

"It's gonna get cold, teme..."

Nothing at all.

"Come on, please? It smells really good, and I might drink it if you don't. I even used your favorite mug..."

Absolutely nothing.

Naruto smirked as an idea popped into his head, and, after a few seconds of silence, he made a slurping sound.

"Don't you fucking dare mess with my tea!" Sasuke snarled, suddenly bolting upright and reaching for the mug quite demandingly. One-handedly, of course, because his other arm was currently clutching a raggedy orange feline to his chest.

"Relax, teme. I didn't drink any of your tea," Naruto said with a chuckle, handing him the mug. "And I see you've taken a liking to Mister Whiskers."

"Tch," Sasuke replied, sipping his tea in order to avoid the subject. 

"Hey, it's cool, man. I'm the one who still has his favorite stuffed animal with him in college, so I'm not gonna judge."

"I don't care about that..."

"Okay, well, what do you care about?"

"Cinnamon tea."

"Well, yeah, that's obvious enough. I know you care about me, too, even if you don't want to admit it. And I care about you, a lot, actually, so you can talk to me about anything. If there's anything, and I mean anything, I can do right now, all you have to do is ask."

"Jump out the window?" Sasuke queried, a slight smirk on his lips as he sipped more of his cinnamon tea.

"If that's really what you want, I guess I have to," Naruto said, sighing and stretching a bit as he walked toward the window. It was only two stories, so it wouldn't be that bad. He hoped.

"No, idiot, come back here. I was joking. There is something, actually..."

"Does it involve me getting hurt?"

"No."

"Okay, good. What is it?"

"On second thought, never mind. It's stupid..." Sasuke said quickly, staring into his mug of tea as if it were the climax of an adventure novel.

"Nah, man. If it makes you feel better, it's not stupid. I promise I won't judge."

Naruto could see the hesitation, hear it in the next words that his best friend spoke.

"Talk to me. Or at me."

"Talk to you?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, what do you want me to talk about?"

"Anything. Everything. Nothing at all. Just sit next to me and babble aimlessly about ramen for all I care. Just... Be you. Be annoyingly cheerful and overly excited about mundane things."

"Uh, okay... Something to babble about..." Naruto mused, sitting down once Sasuke had scooted over to make room for him. This bed definitely wasn't made for two college-age, muscular guys, but neither seemed to mind the closeness.

"Hey, do you remember the time when I used a transformation jutsu to try and kiss Sakura while disguised as you, but I got so nervous I almost shit my pants? And the time Kakashi got so mad at me that he tied me to a tree and you had to feed me part of your lunch? Ooh! And that one time when we got stuck to each other and tried jumping off a cliff over that waterfall to break free? That was so awkward then, but now that I think about it, it was kinda funny, huh? Oh yeah, what about the time I tried my Sexy no Jutsu on you and you stomped on my face? That was a painful one-ttebayo..."

Naruto paused for a few moments, glancing over at his friend as he caught his breath. Man, he was hilarious sometimes. Maybe he wasn't laughing as hard as Naruto himself was, but the blond could see a twinkle of amusement in his dark eyes. It was working.

"I'm sure you remember all the times I got my ass kicked by Sakura, right? She was scary before, but now she's terrifying. Who knew a medic-nin could have such a violent temper? Ahaha, jeez, remember when I was that awkward kid that nobody liked? Y'know, before I became the class clown and stuff."

"Yeah. I remember..."

"Oh. Yeah. You were kinda like that, too. I was always jealous of the way all the girls fell for you, though. I felt bad for you, and I wanted to reach out, but, well, I didn't know how, and besides, you were kinda scary."

"You? Jealous of me?" Sasuke couldn't help but snort at that.

"Yeah..." Naruto admitted, looking down at his hands.

"Well, I don't know if it helps, but I was a little jealous of you. I don't know if you realize this, but I wasn't always this cold and aloof. I was a happy-go-lucky kid once, too."

"Really?" Naruto asked incredulously, turning to look at his friend to see if he truly meant it.

"Really. I guess I was jealous of the way you kept your head up, even when everybody wanted you dead. You just kept being goofy old you, not giving a damn about what anyone thought."

"Uh, actually, I did care. But all I wanted was to make people happy, so I figured if the kid no one likes made a fool of himself, then people would have something to laugh at, and laughter makes people happy."

"Heh... We're a couple of messed-up kids, aren't we?" Sasuke said, followed by a genuine smile. Not forced, not sadistic, but a completely genuine happy smile.

"Yeah, I guess so," Naruto agreed, returning the smile. "But at least we have each other!"

"We've both been through hell, dobe, and even though I'm not thriving like you are, I'm surviving, thanks to you," Sasuke whispered. The sudden softness of his voice startled the blond, and he could feel his heart thudding in his chest as he processed what his best friend had said.

"Well," he said after a while, "I promise that I will not only help you survive, but I'm gonna make you thrive, too, whether you like it or not. I don't care how hard it is, I don't care if it seems impossible, 'cos I'm the master of doing the impossible. We can do this. Together."

"Together," Sasuke repeated, almost as if admiring the way the word felt in his mouth. "Together..."


End file.
